Task 10.2

My last blog of the semester and it is about the GREAT GLADWELL! I remember from last semester when doing FIT2001 System Analysis and Design (SAAD), Gladwell gave an interesting speech on "Armchairs" and how chairs should be made by manufacturers based on consumers requirements with special attention to comfort level. Once again i have a blog to summarize his useful and very INTERESTING speech.

Gladwell introduces "Howard Mascowitz", a personal hero of gladwell who was famous for reinventing the spaghetti sauce and was a reason for Americans to be happy for the last 20 years. Furthermore he describes "Howard Mascowitz" as a wonderfully exuberant person who had interest in measuring things and so was a "Psychophysicist" in profession. He set up a little consultant shop in white lanes, New York and his first client was Pepsi back in the early 1970's.

So Pepsi came up to him and asked him to figure out how much "Aspartame" must be used to make the perfect pepsi. They made his job easy by saying to use a band of 8-12% to figure out which was the sweet spot between this range as below 8% was considered not too sweet enough anf above 12% was considered too much sweet. They took a batch of hundreds of people for the experiment, had them taste pepsi of different degree of concentration, plotted the results on a curve and took the most popular concentration. However, to Howard this seemed messy and meaningless data. He was a man of high intellectual standard and could not make a fair judgement out of the results. So after long and deep thinking, Howard realized that pepsi was asking the wrong question, they should not look for perfect "Pepsi" but perfect "Pepsis."

At first people rejected his idea and thought he was crazy however one day he got a breakthrough when Vlasic Pickles came up to him to help them make perfect pickle. Dr.Mascowitz came up with the idea that not only do they need to improve their regular but should create "Zesty" pickles. Similarly, Campbell Soup, owner of Prego, was struggling in the sphagetti sauce industry against Raghoo and asked Howard Mascowitz to help fix them.

First, Howard went about making 45 varieties of spaghetti sauce which varied from sweetness, sourness, level of garlic, tomatoeness, tartness and visible solids. Just simply any possible way you could imagine spaghetti sauce to be done was made. Now he took a huge sample of these spaghetti sauces and went to Los Angelos, Chicago, New York & Jackson. There he brought in a truckload of people into a hall and made them taste them for 10 different bowls of spaghetti sauce. At the end of testing, he got them to rate each bowl from a range 0-100. Later after a few months he had a ginormous amount of data. Then he decided to group them into clusters and found out that what Americans felt about sphagetti sauce. Mascowitz found that there were 3 groups of that people like about spaghetti sauce: Plain, Spicy and Extra Chunky.

However, at that time there was no company serving the needs of one-third of Americans who were craving for extra chunky spaghetti. Campbell soup changed their spaghetti formula to meet this need. This immediately and completely made them take over the spaghetti sauce industry for the next 10 years. This is were Howard Mascowitz value was realized which led to the making of 14 kinds of mustards, 71 different kinds of olive oil and eventually Raghoo hired Mascowitz. Now in a good supermarket outlet you would find Raghoo available in 36 kinds and 6 varieties: Cheese, Light, Robusto, Old Bowl Traditional and Extra Chunky Garden.

Howard Mascowitz just fundamentally changed the way the food industry thought of making people happy. Before the food industry use to make this 3 assumptions. First they would think that the way to find out what people want to eat or what made them happy was to ask them. This was wrong. People don't know what they want. My favourite quote of Howard Mascowitz was "The mind knows not what the tongue wants."

Second assumption was that food products can be at the top hierarchy. Food industry thought they could make products that were more expensive, more sophisticated and culturally meaningful like remake the italian tomatoes sauces. This was another mistake. Howard Mascowitz introduced the phenomenon of "Horizontal Segmentation". There is no good or bad mustard, no perfect or imperfect mustard. Its just that all mustards exist in the same horizontal plane and different kinds of mustards are made to suit different kinds of people. Simple as that!

Third Assumption, the food industry was creating a sense of feeling that there is a perfect way to make a dish. Again this was a big mistake. Howard took over and changed the thinking. People believed more in univerals rather than variables. Example of Universals was to provide culturally authentic dishes like italian sauces would maximize number of satisfaied people whereas variables was basically making dishes in different ways to suit different tastes.

And this was the most important and splendid lesson taught by Mascowitz was that people are different in all aspects and through development and breakthroughs in genetics it has been proved. The tomato sauce needed to realize that this revolution is taking place and by only embracing the diversity of human beings will certainly ensure true happiness.

This ends another exciting semester and i did enjoy writing the last blog. Gladwell was very inspirational with his words and his stories.

Thanks to everyone (especially my followers) for reading my blog.

Best of Luck FIT2027 Students for the EXAM!!!

Task 9.1

A recent CIO magazine podcast featured a discussion by Meredith Levinson discussing her top 20 tips for software testing. Follow the link on the week 9 panel for the unit and listen to the podcast. Make a critical summary of Meredith Levinson's top 20 tips on software testing (3 value points, 5 individual points, 5 implementation points). Post the summary on your blog.

Through the podcast Meridith Levinson gives an in-depth insight into the best practices for software testing. The podcast begins by telling that testing is the most overlooked, underfunded and most critical aspect of software development lifecycle. Testing is vital to developing high quality software to ensure smooth business operations. Businesses put themselves under extreme risk of substantial losses when they fail to effectively and adequately fail to test software for bugs and performance issues or determine whether software meets business requirements.

There are 20 tips proposed by Meridith Levinson on the best ways to go about doing quality software testing and will go through this in some detail.

Firstly, Meridith mentioned the importance of recruiting highly qualified testers who know about the code in detail will help earn the respect of software developers. Similarly, it is important to highlight the tester’s work and their impact on the company to increase their morale and make them more diligent in their work. Another tip is to merge the developers and testers to have some sort of personal interaction on a regular basis so they can remove any communication gaps between them.

Cross Training is another concept that helps to establish firm understanding between testers and developers. Levinson emphasizes that developers need to be given assurances that despite them making a few mistakes they would not get negative performance reviews as long as they are diligent in their work and are willing to learn from their mistakes. This helps to ease frustrations of developers who take pride in their work to understand that the tester’s role is to find faults in their work to make it better.

The sixth tip is to let testers report to a group who is independent of the developers group so problems are revealed and fixed instantly. It is also essential to centralize testers into one group rather than a particular application area to ensure testers share best practices and lessons learned after completing a project. Next, testers need some on-the-job training and strong focus towards more specific systems to deepen their understanding of the system which helps identify problems that were not shown before in the test documentation. Moreover, involving network operations experts in the testing phase allows actual implementation to be done smoothly.

Furthermore, Levinson mentions in her tips that its necessary to have your own test labs to mimic the same business environment and testing must be done in locked environment, to ensure minimal interference from developers. Likewise it is essential to have old and new systems running simultaneously in the testing phase to integrate good features and eliminate the bad ones. The podcast also introduces a new concept “Code Coverage”. Code coverage basically keeps track of the number of modified or new lines of code tested to check the effectiveness of the testing as modified code often leads to bugs. Other alternative ways to search for defects in code such as scanning the source code thoroughly for any potential problems and using pareto tools to identify root causes of defects in software. Besides detecting defects it is vital at the same time to establish checkpoints and milestones to foster a culture of quality among its development and testing groups.

The Last two tips Meridith metioned about were: Apply equivalence class partitioning and Develop Plan B. Equivalence Class partitioning is basically a mathematical technique testers can use to identify additional functional requirements that users and business analaysts might have overlooked whereas Develop Plan B refers to a contingency plan to be in place in event system does not work the way it supposed to be in spite of the best efforts of testing group.

All the above mentioned 20 tips lead to this conclusion that testing is a rigorous and critical phase of the software development lifecycle. Thus it is important that all people involved in the testing phase must collaborate, communicate effectively and be considerate to the needs of each group to forge a healthy relationship that will result in successful software being developed in future.

Task 7.5

Time to blog again and what an interesting topic i have got to talk about! .... :)

My topic to discuss is about Monash University Library Catalogue Usability Study. The purpose of this study is to to provide data to assist with the redesign of the catalogue’s user interface. The aim of the redesign is to add some new functionality and improve both the usability and aesthetics of the library catalogue. Thus participants are recruited through advertisements placed on noticeboards in Monash University Library Branches and other locations in Australian campuses, through the library website, notice in Monash Memo and via email discussion lists. The payment for participants taking part in this study would be a $50 book voucher given at end of usability test.

By users taking part in this study will help the Monash University Library and Web Resources and Development improve the design, making it easier for staff & students to use.
The Usability Test consists of the following components: Methodology, Facilitator Script (Testing Script), Background Questionnaire, Consent Form and task lists. Now let me take you to each component in some detail for better understanding.

1) Methodology: This is just like a plan or itinerary as to how would the usability test be conducted. It mentiones about the objectives of the test, the testing environment, types of users involved, summary of tasks/ activities to be done, recruitment of participants, data collection method, data security, particpant greeting, etc.

2) Facilitator script: introductions, objectives of test, what activities/ tasks to be done, and some advise and instructions to be followed.

3) Consent form: Basically asking permission to video tape user actions during the usability test for research and analysis purpose. This form also mentions that data will be retained in Information Technology Services (ITS) Division for protection and user can access that information at any point in future and users are free to ask questions and leave test at anytime.

4) Background Questionnaire: A set of questions ranging from mcqs to comments must be filled by users to get feedback on test and improvements required in system. It comprises of sections such as general information. computer experience, internet and web experience and familiarity with use of library catalogue.

5) Task lists: 7 tasks are listed down for users to complete in 2 hours. The tasks will cover the basic concerns that Monash Library Stakeholders have regarding the catalogue system which are: Catalogue Terminology, Search Behavior, search interface, search limits, search results screens,saving, emailing and printing,loan or book requests and managing loans.

After thorough reading of the materials of the Monash Usability Study, i observed lots of repetition from one component to another. That makes it quite annoying for the person reading the materials and even the user could be confused as which oen to follow and might face information overload. For example the usability study objectives, introduction, payment of participant, study/ testing environment, data storage (in consent form) or data security (in methodology) all are available in each component of the usability study and is repeated. Sometimes it feels like one component has less/ more information to the other component. Similarly i found the questionnaire sections to have some irrelevant questions which are not justified like internet usage and eyesight questions. Lastly i would like to criticize about "thinking aloud protocol". Personally i feel that thinking aloud may create a noisy environment and users might feel awkward. This type of method would be more useful if its done for one user at a time and this was not mentioned in the usability study components. Because "thinking aloud" with many users in one room means making noises and creating distractions for users to concentrate and express themselves freely.

Besides that the usability study materials look professional and shows how professionally it is going to be conducted by Monash University Library and Web Resources and Developement. the usability study sample materials were so useful that i used it as a good reference and foundation for my usability test for moodle.

Hope you enjoyed my blog! .... :)

TASK 5.4

This task is to summarize the research paper "Automatic Transformation from Data Flow Diagram to Structure Chart". Researcher, Minyi Guo, emphasizes the importance of transforming data flow diagrams into structure charts during the software design phase.

This paper not only highlights the importance of the transformation but also the difference between data flow diagrams and structure charts and how they use transform and transaction analysis to bridge the gap thereby ensuring a smooth transition between software development phases.

From the paper, we understand that a data flow diagram is a natural tool for the analyis phase of the software life cycle. It is also a graphical network representing the processes and data interfaces of a system. On the other hand a structure chart is useful in design and implementation phases and is also a graphical tool for descibing the hierarchy of modules to be implemented as well as algorithmic relationships and communication links among them.

Guo then describes transform and transaction analysis in further detail. The main definition i captured from the paper was this:

"In transaction analysis there is a transaction center which captures an input transaction, determines its type and then processes it in the appropriate branch of the center while in transform analysis the input and output data streams of a data flow diagram are followed to determine the central portion of the system responsible for main transform of data."

Guo also mentions about structured analysis and structured design being the most popular and successful software development methodologies used in most CASE (computer-aided software engineering) environments.

However despite these methodologies being successful and popular, the process of transforming from software specification to design document is not only complex and diffcult but cannot assure correctness. Thus, a tool called CAST (Computer-Aided Specification Transformation) has been constructed to automatically translate requirement specifications into design specifications during the development phase of the software life cycle.

CAST consists of a description language, a rule base and an automatic transformation system. It accepts a software specification expressed in terms of data flow diagrams as input. Then the researcher mentions about how the CAST system actually works. In brief, data flow diagram is inserted, then translated into a structured language representation. After this is done, it is determined whether transform or transaction analysis would be used to produce structure chart. Once that is decided, a structure chart is formed, evaluated and finally displayed to Sc_file.

Now last main point discussed in paper is about problem identification. The paper emphasizes about the improvements that need to be made to the proposed techniques of using structured specification language and transformational algorithms. The main areas needed for improvement are efficient use of semantic information to improve quality of transformation and better description of structure chart evaluation criteria.

That's all....

It was a long article to read and took me time to understand. Hopefully this summary is good enough to cover the main points of the paper... :)

Task 2.3

Now it's Semester 2, 2010 and blogging begins again. This time for FIT2027 System Design & Implementation (SDAI).

For this task, I have been asked to answer a few questions. Questions regarding the nature of my team such as do i have a good team and why? What is required to be done as a group in order to be effective? how will team make decisions? how will you work together and how will you communicate?

Firstly, I believe that i have a good team. The reason being that it was my first choice team and i was glad everyone agreed to be part of my team. I consider my team to be a group of smart individuals who come up with bright ideas and have the relevant business as well as I.T skills required to do a good job for this unit. My team comprises of 4 people: Archana, Abdur Rehman, Farhanah and Kavinesh.

Moving on, I think as a group we need to be very frank with each other and be very helpful to each other so everyone feels comfortable in the team environment. Based on my experience of working with my team, we always look to divide work according to a person's level of ability and at same time provide guidance if they are stuck in some part of the task assigned to them. This requires each member of our team to be patient, considerate and compromise whenever possible.

For instance if one member has some other commitments or other priorities he needs to give attention, we postpone our meetings to a reasonable extent to accomodate their needs. Basically we have a good rapport with each other since we know each other and we know each one of us are responsible people who will do their work.

In order to be an effective team, we need to have good time management skills and be committed to doing the work for the unit. By time management skills i mean proper planning of how much each individual member can realistically give to do their parts, be available for group meetings and research to give valuable input to the team's final work. Because the amount of tasks to do for this unit can be tough at times so self motivation or motivation from team members is required and luckily my group members have those characteristics. Confidence in each one's ability and knowing strengths and weaknesses of each individuals helps to divide work appropriately, which means less conflicts and wastage of time.

The team will make decisions based on majority votes. We usually consult everyone about a decision in our meeting and first know about our member's opinion regarding a particular topic. Then we have a voting process and majority votes wins the argument and everyone respects the decision. The hardest decision so far our team had to make was this one situation when we voted and it was a draw. 50% agreed and 50% disagreed. We ended up convincing each individual of the team to change their opinion to make the majority votes win. This situation was about adding another group member or not to have 4 members or 5 members. Members agreed because it would have brought new ideas and workload would be reduced whereas members disagreed since it would lead to more conflicts and co-ordiantion problems especially since all members did not know the standard of work that the added member does. In the end after a thorough discussion our new voting results were 75% disagreed and 25% agreed.

Our group would usually communicate over the phone, via SMS messages and e-mails. We would book discussion rooms or work in labs that are less crowded to have more focus and discuss in peace. We would have meetings on days when everyone were not so busy with other commitments and when it was required to meet a deadline soon.

So far everything has gone smooth with my group and i am truly grateful to have such a group... :)

Task 1.3

Blogging continues.....
My first blog of the new semester.....and this time not for SAAD but for SDAI...

You would be wondering what SDAI stands for? Its System Design And Implementation (SDAI)
From what I'm told by my lecturer..... SDAI is just the continuation of System Analysis and Design (SAAD) and looks at the design and implementation phases in more detail.
Anyways my first blog is to summarise an article titled -Growing Up: Moving from technology- Centered to Human- Centered Products for task 1.3.

Initially, I found the article to be boring and really LONG! But since it was the first task and i wanted to get started with blogging, I forced myself to go through the article several times to get the gist of it and understand what is the motive of the article. Finally i found it interesting and quite informative about the computer industry.

Basically the article outlines how the computer industry is evolving from just being technology- focused companied to customer/ human-focused companies. Before technology companies would just sell their products based on what technology they produce and hoped people would buy it. And people did buy those products. Those people who were willing to try new technology and able to purchase them were called Early adopters. However, as products matured companies suddenly found themselves in a completely different position. A mass market was created and these people were taking interest in their products and started demanding better technology and features. These people were called Late adopters. These people are considered to be conservative and pragmatic who would wait for technology/ computer companies and their respective products to establish themselves in the market before they make a purchasing decision in their favour. But they would demand for brand name, price, appearance, value, convenience, prestige, ease of use, low cost, good user experience, reliability and basically want solutions that simplify their lives and not technologies that complicate them.

Companies realized that their products needed marketing experts to persuade people that their product was unique from other company products. But at the same time this would bring internal tension and conflicts within the organization, especially between technologists/ engineers and marketers. The reason being that its hard to come up with new technologies and implement them at a faster rate and sometimes the features that customers want is either not possible or will take time to achieve or unreasonable. But Marketers don't understand technology and the engineers for their job is simply discover and meet consumer requirements.

In general, customers have greater demands and want to be shown that the product is a worthwhile investment. And unfortunately the mass market is not technically sophisticated so require services such as help desks from the organization to handle their technology/ user related queries. These services can be expensive for the organization so would need to work on the product beforehand to ensure it enhances the user experience. Thus, technology companies discovered that they not only need marketing, technology but also require user experience to meet overall customer needs.

Now its time to introduce you all to the phenomenon - "Human Centered Product Development". Human centered development means that successful products requires 3 equal partners, or 3 skill set or 3 legs of tripod: Technology, Marketing and User Experience. All three provide necessary and complementary strengths.

To explain the importance of these partners take the following scenarios: a product fails if it is easy to use and understand but has deficient technology so that it is too slow and limited in ability. Similarly if a product fails if it has wonderful technology but is too difficult to use. A Product also fails if it has wonderful technology, accomplishes wonderful things, and is easy to use but is too expensive. Hence all three partners must be in balance.

An example from the article, of companies facing similar situation, are the following:

• The Xerox Star is a product that failed despite superb user experience; it had insufficient technology and marketing.
• The Apple II and the IBM PC illustrate are products that succeeded despite limited technology and poor user experience. They had great marketing but more important they handled tasks of sufficient value that their users were willing to tolerate the deficiencies.

A lesson to learn from this article is that people (early adopters) are willing to overlook the deficiencies because of the great benefits. Superb functionality can conquer, can make for a viable business, but without full support for all three legs of the tripod, it will never stand as a business for the everyday consumer (late adopters/ mass market). So in a mature market, a human-centered development process is not only appropriate, it is required.

In conclusion, computer industry has to go through this revolution of changing times and changing behavior where old fashion techniques won't work and have to adopt new philosophies to thrive in a competitive industry and one of the solution is to embrace quickly the phenomenon of "Human centered development" which requires three different skill sets, three legs of product development: Technology, Marketing, and User Experience.

Hope everyone enjoyed my blog and don't worry there are many more to come for this semester...

Look out for it! .... :)

Week 13

Good Morning SAAD! It's Week 13.....

I am relieved that i just submitted my assignment 2 before the lecture.

Assignment 2 was quite hard as i got stuck between making a choice of which possibilities to follow especially while doing the first-cut sequence diagram and design class diagram. This was a result of the Assignment 2 specification not being very clear about what it wants and how is it suppose to be like. Anyways i did the assignment to the best of my abilities and hope i get a good grade for this assignment as well.

I am so happy that all my assignments are over and i can primarily focus on my exams.

For me Week 13 is the final week for lectures and tutorials in my SAAD journey.

Week 13 was basically about Revision and Exam tips. Our lecturer told us about the exam format and which main topics we must focus on to do well in the exams. I considered these tips as very important and my hand was quickly jotting down all the points that seemed relevant to me during the lecture.

From my understanding, the exam would have 3 sections:

Section A - MCQS (20 marks)
Section B - Short answers (40 marks)
Section C - Long Answers & Diagrams (40 marks)

After going through the topics i feel the exam is do-able.... the only worrying factor would be for me is TIME MANAGEMENT!

I need to know my stuff very well and need to time myself. I just follow one simple phrase when i do exams: "Do your best and God will do the rest"

Now moving on to the tutorial for this week......

We did the sample and past year exams in class and tried to understand the format of the exam. This exercise proved very useful as i was able to clarify some of my doubts with the tutor and know where i stand at the moment for the exams. I also figured out some of my weaknesses that i would be working on in next few days so i am better prepared for exam.

So this is my last official entry for this semester. However, I may write a new post on my feelings and experience on the exam after 15th June.

I would like to thank the unit leaders of Fit2001 for providing excellent study resources and initiating this blog facility. It helped me regularly vent my feelings and reflect back on what i have done on the subject.

A personal thanks goes to Mr. Peter O' Donnell for making me the week 8 blog of the week.... i seriously did not think my blog was that impressive to be given such a recognition. It does mean a lot to me and i am proud of it.

I would like to also thank Mr. Peter O' Donnell for some of the advices he gave regarding the assignments in my blog and for the useful responses he gave in the Discussion Forums.

Lastly a BIG thank you to my lecturer, Mr. Yeap Boon Han, and my tutor, Mr. Ramesh Kumar, for their continuous help, advice and guidance throughout the semester. Hope we meet again in some other unit because i am not graduating yet and it was lovely having both of you teaching this subject.

Another thanks to my followers for taking the time to read this blog and all of my previous blogs....

To All of my FIT2001 students......Best of Luck for Exams and Happy Holidays!

Week 12

WEEK 12 to me means the last lecture for this unit and a sad moment. After this i would be left with just one revision class and my exam before i end my journey.

It feels like it was just yesterday when i was beginning this unit and here i am at the closing stages of this unit..... I am getting sentimental now as i reflect back on the previous weeks i have gone through this unit..... but i guess that's the type of person I am.... who cherishes small memories of life...

Now moving on from my emotional moment to the actual lecture material...

Week 12 was titled - Design: System Interface

This lecture was again interesting for me because i did not see any complex diagrams.... by now my blog followers should know that i am not a big fan of diagrams.... : -)

This lecture taught us about relational databases and what technologies are there for databases. To name a few DB2, MySQL and Sybase. I was paying close attention to this because relational database was one part of assignment 2 and this is what i was looking for earlier.

Relational Model is a diagram where you convert your classes into tables and you need to identify primary keys and foreign keys. After that you need to figure out the appropriate data types and the relationships between these tables and use crow's notation. Luckily, i did database last semester so i was aware of the notation already.

Then i was taught about System interfaces. By definition, System Interface are inputs and outputs with minimal or no human interaction. Similarly system interface, system output and system controls does not require much human interaction.

Examples to help identify System Interfaces are:

1) Highly automated input devices
2) Inputs from other systems
3) Inputs from data in external databases
4) Outputs to external database
5) Outputs with minimal Human Computer Interaction (HCI)
6) Outputs with other systems
7) Real-time Connections

Another thing that caught my attention were some names of input devices that were used to avoid human entry and eliminate human errors. These input devices were:

1) Magnetic card strip readers
2) Bar-code readers
3) OCR readers and scanners
4) RFID (Radio Frequency Identification Device)
5) Electronic pens & writing surfaces
6) Digitizers such as digital cameras & digital audio devices

To identify user and system inputs, Traditional Structured Models (such as DFD's & structure charts)and Object Oriented Models (such as System sequence diagrams and design class diagrams) can be used.

Output can be shown in the form of reports and there are 3 types of reports: Printed, Electronic Displays and turnaround documents. And these Reports can be formatted to avoid information overload and to ensure that the information is meaningful and presented in a professional manner with dates and page numbers.

Now a system interface needs some form of control and the types of control that system developers design and implement to protect the system and its data are: Integrity and Security

Integrity Controls are used to ensure only appropriate & correct business transaction occurs, ensure transactions are recorded & processed correctly, prevent any fraud, protect & safeguard assets such as (software, hardware and information)of organization.
Integrity control has 3 types: Input, Database and Output

Security Controls are used to protect assets of organization from all threats.

Data Security include methods such as encryption, decryption, symmetric key, asymmetric key and public key. There was also a concept of digital signatures and certificates being taught which i found quite interesting. For example, a term called Secure Hypertext Transport protocol( HTTPs )is basically what we see in the URL bar to indicate a web visitor has entered a secure website.

After this interesting lecture was another interesting tutorial....

Our Lecturer.... Mr. Yeap Boon Han made his final "Guest Appearance" in our tutorial classes by helping us with Week 12 and doing previous tutorials that were relevant to our assignment 2. He taught us about relational database models by drawing a sample diagram on the whiteboard and also told us about how to construct a design class model and how does a first-cut sequence diagram looks like. He also briefly told us about what was needed and the purpose of a user interface. And i found all these tips very useful for my assignment 2..

We were also showed how an actual system analysis and design report looks like by showing a THICK booklet of a Pharmacy System.... and it must have been close to 850 pages.

From that point I realized that a System Analyst job is no joke and involves a lot of work. Nonetheless, this experience has just made me more confident that pursuing a career in System Analysis and Design is challenging and worth it.

Now i proceed to do my remaining assignments for this week and i hope by now i have all that is required to do assignment 2... because i have not done much work on it yet.

Week 11

Good Morning Monday! Good Morning SAAD!

We are in week 11 and i just cannot believe that how quick the semester has gone by.

Although i was sleepy today some key terms were able to catch my attention. Words like affordance, visibility, human computer interaction(HCI), 8 golden rules, user interface, system interface and metaphors were more appealing and attention gaining to me than the diagrams which left my mind blank and i would stare at them being clueless and dismayed.

We did not start off with week 11 lecture since Sir, Mr. Yeap Boon Han, wanted to revise the first-cut sequence diagram, collaboration and interaction diagram so we could understand them better and how they are constructed. Understanding these diagrams now would make our life easier when doing assignment 2. Thus i paid close attention reluctantly to what the diagram was all about. After explaining those diagrams there were a few slides from week 10 were explained.

Then we started week 11 lecture titled - "Design: the user Interface"

User interface basically gives an idea about the inputs and outputs related to the system and what suitable form should the system be in to have an effective interaction with users.

There are 3 types of User Interfaces:

1) Physical aspects: touched by the user

2) Perceptual aspects: these are things that the user sees, hears or touches

3) Conceptual aspects: this is what the user knows about the system & the logical functions related to it.

There were plenty more of key terms that i do not vividly remember from this lecture at the moment but after a long while and for a change that was overdue ... this lecture was not about understanding complex diagrams ....* sigh* .....i am truly grateful for that.

Moving on to the tutorial class....

To my amazement, the tutor missed tutorial 10 that we were supposed to do this week since we did tutorial 9 last week and he was telling us to do the review questions that were related to todays lecture.... yes you guessed right we were doing Tutorial 11.

Should i call it a blessing or a curse? After doing the tutorial i was able to relate the key terms mentioned in lecture and enhance my understanding on them. On the otherhand i have to do week 10 tutorial in my own slef-study time which is being used for a hectic assignment schedule this week!

Anyways i was happy again and was able forget my assignment headache for a short while.... because at the end of the lecture we had a photo session!!!..... Yipeeeeeeeee

I was taking photos with my friends and i was at the very center next to the tutor.....

However, when i saw the actual photo i was upset because my eyes were closed.

But anyways i want to thank Mr. Ramesh for being very kind, helpful and useful for me as a facilitator throughout the duration of this subject.

And a Vote of Special Thanks to Yeap Boon Han as well for his "GUEST APPEARANCES" in some of the tutorial classes because without his help i might have not have had much progress in my assignments.

As i move towards the end of this journey, i have memories that will truly cherish my life and soemthing i can reflect back with pride and self-fulfillement.

Week 10

Wow! its a Monday morning and i just submitted my Assignment 1b in the assignment submission box. I was feeling so sleepy and tired after all the effort i put in assignment1b for the past few days.

I just realized that Fit2001 assignments can be mentally draining since a lot of thought goes into the assignment and wondered how tough the real system analyst would feel after going through all the work done in an analysis phase.

Anyways my Assignment 1b was basically a Requirement Specification Report which contained a title page, a coversheet, a table of contents, an executive summary, defining the system scope by using a context diagram, a use case diagram, a brief and detailed use case descriptions and (analysis) domain class models.

I made the report as professional as i possibly could and tried my level best to mention all user requirements and business functions in it. While doing this assignment i realized there are many ways in which things can be interpreted and it does not matter how the end result is as long as its logically possible.

For instance, when i was thinking about the problems and opportunities for the system, i was actually made to think what possibilities are there for the system in a logical and rational way.

Overall this assignment made me thoroughly understand the concept of object-oriented approaches which i could not understand it initially during tutorials and the lectures.

Now moving on to the lectures.....Week 10: Use case realization

Actually its part of the design phase where we use object-oriented design techniques to actually build a system based on the analysis phase. According to the lecture the object oriented design bridges the gap between user requirements and the programming aspects of the new system. Thus, programmers are able to understand what to program by looking at these object oriented models. During this lecture, i came across lots of diagrams that by the end of the lecture i could not make out which diagram was for which object-oriented model...hehe...:)

Maybe i was just too sleepy or i just need to go through the diagrams in own time becuase they can be confusing.

The lecturer higlighted important terms such as cohesion, coupling and use case controller as being important for exams. So i guess it was something for me to refer back later.

However there was one lecture slide that i did found really useful and thought was a good indication of what we have done so far and what are we going to do. This was a slide telling that:

Diagrams used during analysis phase: use case descriptions, use case diagram, activity diagram, domain model class diagram and system sequence diagram.

Diagrams used during design phase: design class diagram, interaction and package diagram.

This was a good overview of what all the diagrams were about. Luckily i had my printouts during the lecture or i would have missed this slide becuase apparently my lecturer moves between different slides very quickly that i sometimes lose track of which slide we are currently in.

Lecture ends and now i wait for my TUTORIAL class in a few hours........

For some reason we are behind in tutorials.... ARRGH!!

We were suppose to be doing Tutorial 10 on use case realization....but we were doing tutorial 9 on Data flow diagram....

At the end of this exercise we learnt how to identify a system boundary, divide the programming components and convert them into a system flowchart from a given system. Sadly, it took the whole tutorial time to try to understand the questions and we were not able to do the additional review questions.

Another tiring day..... and i am so not looking forward to my hectic schedule in week 9 where i have 3 assignments due in 3 consecutive days.....

Huh! .... my situation makes me remember a dialog from a movie " You can run but you can't hide"..... just reminds me that i have do my assignments somehow because i cannot stay away from them....

*Sheesh* i am so loving Monash now in my 2nd year.... ;)

Week 9

*Sigh*.... Just a few more weeks to go before i will complete this unit..... but i must admit the last hurdle is always the toughest one and i would have to deal with it to pass this unit. I just can't wait to get quickly to the end of week 12 somehow because it means no more boring lectures.... :)

Today, i was late for class and i was welcomed this morning with an array of even more complex diagrams that i have not seen before in my earlier lectures. Unfortunately the study guide 9 was a mere few pages and were not useful. Thus, i ended up reading the lecture notes and try paying more careful attention to the lecture.

Lecture 9 titled - "Structured Design" introduced me to system flowcharts and structured charts. System Flowcharts happen to be representations of various computer programs, files, databases, and associated manual processes that make up a complete system. In short, they show data movement within a system.

While Structured charts describes functions and subfunctions of each part of system and it also shows relationships between modules of a computer program. A Structured chart is developed using Transaction Analysis and Transform Analysis.

One difference between these two steps that i understood from the lecture was that:

• Transform Analysis uses Data flow diagrams (DFD) fragments for inputs, while Transaction Analysis uses system flowcharts and event tables for inputs

That was pretty much what i could grasp from the lecture for week 9.

Few hours later.......Tutorial 9 class begins.....

Tutorial 9 happened to be a continuation of week 8 tutorial because last week, learning to write the use case descriptions took up the whole class to understand so we couldn't do the Activity diagrams and sequence diagrams. So our work for tutorial 9 class was to make activity diagram and sequence diagrams. It was quite interesting and i learned the usage of different symbols used in Activity diagrams and Sequence diagrams.

So with the completion of week 9, i have learnt so far how to make context diagrams, data flow diagrams, use cases, use case descriptions, sequence diagrams, activity diagrams, event tables and class diagrams. Frankly speaking, i am still not an expert at making these diagrams but i guess the whole ideas of the tutorial was to get an idea of how to go about making the diagrams anf the tutor has been helpful in facilitating how to make these diagrams step by step.

Like I said before in my previous blogs, I would've appreciated if i had some more practice questions on these diagrams apart from the book and tutorials to master my skill at constructing these diagrams. An example has been while doing my Assignment1a and now currently while doing Assignment 1b, I have so many doubts because there are so many possibilities that i can't decide what to choose and I end up not knowing what should be done.

ARGGH!!!.....I will just have to trust my judgement, understanding and ability that what i am doing is the right way to go.

In conclusion this is what Analysis is all about challenging yourself to go deep and trust your judgement based on the knowledge and ability that you possess.

Time to work again on Assignment 1b with a new zeal and perspective. Thanks to this blog facility, i am able to reflect and revitalize myself again that i can perform well in this unit.

Week 8

Wow! this week went so fast that i did not realize it. Probably it's just that time of the semester where the workload is at its peak and we end up being SUPER BUSY!!

Despite of all the time pressure, i managed to find some time at the end of the week to reflect on what was Week 8 all about for System Analysis and Design.

Thinking back to lecture 8, we have now reached the Design Stage. We learnt about the 7 Design Phase activities:

1. Design and integrate network
2. Design the application architecture
3. Design user interface
4. Design system interfaces
5. Design and integrate the database
6. Prototype for Design Details
7. Design and integrate the system controls

An important difference i learnt was that Analysis is focussed on what the system should perform, referring to business requirements whereas Design is more towards how system will be built i.e. defining structural components. By definition, Design is actually a process in which the system components at architectural and detailed level are described, organized and structured.

Besides that the learning objectives of the lecture were about knowing different architectural designs such client-server architecture, single, clustered, multi-computer architecture and centralised and distributed architecture. Similarly, different types of computer networks such LAN, WAN and Internet , their network configuration and network design were mentioned during the lecture. As usual, another lecture that turned out to be boring for me.

Honestly, this unit is getting more complex and boring as we progress towards the end of this unit. I just see complex diagrams, topics and text nowadays in lectures and unfortunately my workload is so much that i don't have much time to go through the book for more details. The study guide again was a good friend helping me understand what is actually in the lecture slides. The lecture slides is just full of brief information and diagrams which not enough for understanding.

Anyways my prime focus is getting all remaining assignments done and thinking about the exam instead of criticizing the unit. That's why i love this blog facility, i get to vent my frustrations on this unit and reflect on my experience so far to motivate myself to improve my understanding for this unit.

Oops! i forgot to mention that my event table was approved and all main requirements were present. I just lost marks on representation and professionalism. Now i can progress with my Assignment 1b with not much changes to make so time to speed up work!

Fast Forward...... to tutorial class!

The tutorial class was all about learning to make Use Case Descriptions. Our tutor was very helpful and needs some praise for making sure we understood the whole concept step by step. It was after a long time that i actually felt i was not much lost in both classes.

A nice way to end week 8 of my System Analysis and Design (SAAD) Journey.

Week 7

Like every lecture nowadays i find it confusing and too brief. Once again i ended up reading the study guide during lecture to understand what was being taught this week. In the middle of my reading i was also involved in a conversation with my classmate as boredom and sleepiness was creeping into me.

I just felt SUPER ... Relieved after submitting my Assignment 1a, it was only 5% but the thought and time that went it to doing it was just like an Assignment worth 10% or 15%. I wonder how Assignment 1b would be.... anyways still got a little time to do it.... ;)..... For now i just need to focus on what needs to be learned this week.

Our lecture title was "Finishing Analysis"..... Initially i thought we actually finished the analysis part and were going to start design from next week onwards and i was right.

Finished Analysis basically tells about the last 3 activities of analysis
1) Prioritize system requirements
2) Generate and evaluate alternatives
3) Review Recommendation with management

Prioritizing requirements is based on scope and level of automation. While implementation alternatives are generated and evaluated on key criterias such as: strategic plan, economic feasibility, schedule and resource feasibility, technology feasibility and operational, organizational and cultural feasibility. They also include building system in-house, or buying packaged solution or contracting with a vendor. Take note that while choosing a vendor a trial version of the software solution is installed , observed and benchmarked before deciding on having a contract with the vendor.

Once the alternatives have been selected the last stage is done which is to compile and organize a professional document or report which has an introduction & background on company, states all types of requirements (general, functional, and technical), details for submitting proposal, evaluation criteria & process and requested provider and project information that would be submitted to the executive steering committee or senior management for approval.

One more thing i forgot that this week's lecture was too brief so some parts of week 6 were revised mainly the use case diagram since we were going to do it in tutorial class later. Last week, we did not have the books so we did not start on class diagrams and use cases yet. Hopefully today would be a good exercise in tutorial.

THREE HOURS LATER.........

Time for tutorial class.... our tutor smartly printed the questions for tutorial because like last week some students bring their books..... luckily i brought my book so i could refer to topics that i was not sure about. So i had my first hands-on experience of making class diagrams and use cases and i felt it was "do-able." As i progressed towards the next questions of the tutorial the degree level for making the diagrams was getting harder which is in a way a good practice but it meant more time to do it and sadly i ended up not finishing it during the allocated tutorial time.

On the whole, the day started with relief and ended with relief so a happy day for me. The lecture started off as a blurry concept but the study guide helped understand that this material helps me do my Assignment1b which is about making a report stating the system requirements of CyberRoo and making the diagrams which were taught in the tutorial.

Now a feedback from my lecturer and tutor to know about my progress on Assignment1a awaits me next week and i hope i made good progress.... so i can work on Assignment1b as soon as possible.....

........... LOTS TO DO!.... in LESS TIME....

............OMG! .... week 9 is not far away....

Experience of Assignment 1a

A pleasant Hello! to all those who are following my blog. This section of my blog deals with my personal insights and suggestions on Assignment 1a.

The whole purpose of the exercise in Assignment 1a was basically to be able to understand the system that CyberRoo wants by knowing what are their main requirements. Then an event table is constructed to show those requirements in a logical order using key elements of the event table i.e. Event name, trigger, source, use case, response and destination. Mastering or having an in-depth understanding of the event table and its elements is a skill needed for System Analysts to extract main requirements and system functional specifications from their clients.

Basically while doing this assignment i figured out that there are many ways to interpret system requirements and i decided to take a safer option by including as much possibilities as possible in my event table so unintentionally i don't neglect the main requirements. So in the process i ended up with 28 events as oppose to 18, 20, 22, or 24, that most of my fellow colleagues had for their event tables. Once again emphasising that there are many ways to interpret things and being a successful System analyst means getting your interpretation and judgement correct most of the times which obviously comes with experience and skills that you develop with time as you work with different systems.

I would like to give some suggestions for this particular unit and assignment is that there should be more practice exercises for event tables because at most times while doing the assignment i was not sure about what i was doing. That mainly goes to the lack of practice and lack of feedback on the exercises i did before. So i would like the Fit2001 organizers to look into this matter that more practice with soultions should be given before an actual assignment is actually told to be done. Another reason being that as an IT student i got only one shot to do this subject so i expect to master a particular knowledge or skill that i learn from this unit rather than just partially knowing about it.

At this point, i would like to appreciate the Forums and Blogs facilites of this unit which helped me tremendously in making clear some of the doubts that i had for this assignment and to my one close friend who helped me to make the transcript of the CyberRoo audio. These materials also gave me the start up direction for the assignment and a study group helps all the time to discuss and clear doubts on topics that we face as we do our assignments.

Overall, it was a mixed experience which had its bad moments and good moments. The bad part was that the assignment was full of ambiguities adding up to the stress i already had for other assignments . The good part was that i would've not learned much about this unit if it were not for this assignment. Now the link of event tables, class diagrams and use cases are beginning to make sense and their purpose is becoming even more visible.

In short these last two quotes sums up my Assignment 1a experience,

"A day not learning anything, is a day wasted in your life"

"No pain.... No Gain"

Thanks for patiently reading my blog.

Week 6 - A hectic week

My week 6 began with the strong realization that i need to submit 3 assignments by the end of this week and System Analysis Assignment 1a was one of them. As usual, week 6 of the semester happens to be the peak time for being busy with all assignments and i have not done much reading lately so i was expecting to be lost in the lecture. And it was sadly TRUE!!.... The day we had lecture and tutorial happened to be my birthday and i was getting bored with all the diagrams that were not making much sense.. All those diagrams felt like a repetition of week 4 & week 5 lecture. Basically these diagrams were about Use Cases that we would need to draw in our Assignement 1b so it was imperative that i understood how to make them and how they actually work.

Then after a while i decided to go through the study guide and i found it extremely useful. It was descriptive and in point form explaining the things in a proper order. Like the study started with a definition of use diagrams, some examples and then a step-by-step process to draw a case diagram. That instantly changed my mood as my doubts were getting slowly cleared by the content of the study guide. I wish the lectures would have more detail and less diagram so students can understand the topic well because what i think is that too much diagrams just don't seem to be meaningful and would create more doubts.

The only thing i found important or useful in week 6 lecture was some guidance and handy information from the lecturer on how to do the assignment which is due in a few days. Like always whenever i do not understand fully the lecture I look forward to the tutorial to help me clear my doubts and understand the topic better.

To my amazement, i found the lecturer in the first hour of the tutorial explaining us how to construct Context Diagram and Data Flow Diagrams(DFD). I don't know how but somehow it slipped out of my mind that Yeap Boon Han was coming....hmmm... must've been the stress of 3 assignments to submit in a few days.... He helped us step by step in making the diagram and i was able to understand the concept behind making a context diagram and a DFD. But i have to still admit these are complex diagrams and require solid understanding to be able to construct them properly.

Sadly due to lack of time the lecturer could not help us create the event table for week 6 tutorial. I was very disappointed since i wanted to enhance my understanding on creating event tables and understanding their elements in detail to help me do my assignment 1a but now i have to do everything on my own.... :(

Once the first hour ended the tutor was reinforcing what the lecturer had discussed about earlier and i was patiently now waiting for the class to end since it felt like a really long day.
Class ends........... Work on Assignment 1a beginzzzzzz.........

WEEK 5

This is the Fifth week of my journey and i am finding it hard to link all what i have learnt so far.In the lecture i was finding it quite difficult to understand how to make those diagrams and what each element of the diagram was about. The lecture titled: "The traditional or structured approach to analysis" was regarding the context diagrams, data flow diagrams and the event tables. I really felt blank maybe because it was a morning class in which my attention span is not at the highest.... or probably i was not able to make those diagrams by hand at that particular moment in the lecture and was also not actually thinking about those elements.

But thankfully the lecturer told us that we just need to get an idea of these concepts and we will actually be drawing them and thinking about those diagrams and tables in the upcoming tutorials of the semester. I was relieved and was looking forward to the tutorials to make todays lecture on diagrams..... CRYSTAL CLEAR!!!

So i attended the tutorial 5 and found myself making an event table for the operation of a lift ..... Thankfully my tutor guided us step by step in the whole process of making "Event tables".... i actually when through the book to get some more detail on the elements of the Event table namely: Event Name, Trigger,Source, Activity,Response & Destination.

In my own words, I describe the elements as the following:

1. Event Name: Name of the particular event occuring
2. Trigger: Signal sent to tell that an event has occured
3. Source: The one who has entered the data to activate the event or is the reason the event occured
4. Activity: the steps or process are done to get the event done
5. Response: the actual step/ action taken to get the event done
6. Destination: to ensure the intended person gets the result or is affected by the event being completed

Once i drew the event table, i did some questions related to the object oriented approach.... about identifying the number of attributes and objects by reading the class diagram.

As far as i remember tha last part of the question was a quite stressful for me as i had to put a lot of strain in my brain.... mainly due to not understanding the question properly and sadly even the tutor's explanation couldn't clarify the question. I ended up answering it according to what i felt was right rather than it being the right answer.

So i hope to get the answers to those questions and the event table soon and get my understanding right on objects and event tables.... since i need to understand them properly now and not have a hard time doing my assignment which is due in my sixth week of my journey.

WEEK 4 Lecture & Tutorial Experience

As oppose to my past experience in my Fit2001 journey, this day was the most bizzarre of them all. Building up to the lecture i was so confused about not only the week 4 lecture but also about the week 4 tutorial. I was told by my tutor to prepare a set of questions regarding any company, product or brand to interview in tutorial and i show up this morning in lecture to find out that we were actually told to prepare questions regarding the case study.

I felt shattered and could not believe that all the effort to make those interview questions should be thrown in the waste bin in that instant. So i had to make an urgent meeting with my group members to make a new set of questions on the case study. I had to do all the research and thinking with my group members in the space of 3 hours before our tutorial class to only face another confusion and utter disappointment.

Our tutor says that interview is based on not any unknown company..... not on any case study but on Gladwells presentation and the Pepsi ad..... At that particular moment i when i heard that announcement i felt like banging my head on the desk but i chose not to since i needed my head safe and sound to make the new set of questions. Again in a rush and with enormous amount of stress hitting me, we somehow got the job done in the allocated time given to us to start making a new set of interview questions.

Then the tutor engaged in a one-on-one discussion with each group to answer questions and clarify things. Once that was done i had a sigh of relief that this tutorial is done with.

But i was again sad and unsatisfied that the additional tutorial question which i worked so dilligently to come up with answers was done in a rush and the question on drawing the activity diagram was not explained properly since the tutor was in rush as class had already ended by then. Thus i hope i get the solution in the coming weeks so i verify that my concepts are clear and strong.

Ooops! In all this confusion and stress i forgot to mention about the new topics introduced in week 4 lecture called "Beginning Analysis" . WEEK 4 lecture was about defining events, understanding objects, classes, attributes and methods. It also mentioned about the types of events, the reasons for modeling and their respective types. Class diagrams, event tables, and types of things were also shown to get a better idea of them. But i still felt after the lecture that i have a vague idea about things and would hope that some reading and tutorials in the next few days will clear that concept.

This sums up my week 4 experience and i am looking to the next few weeks to be able to link all the information i know so far about Fit2001 so I would be able to tackle my assignments with greater ease...... :)

Tutorial 3

Once again an fit2001 tutorial started out in a rather peculiar fashion. We were suppose to see a presentation on Gladwell reporting about his research & findings customer's preferences and views on the "ideal armchair" but only to find out that there is a problem in the speakers which led to another delay just like what happened in last week's tutorial.

Anyways while the problem was being fixed by the I.T technician we were taught about the differences between a podcast and a blog.

By definition Podcast is a digital media file (either audio/video) or related collection of such files which is distributed over the Internet using syndication feeds fro playback on portable media players & personal computers. Whereas a blog is simply an online personal diary where the layout is already provided and you just give an account of whatever subject you want to talk about. You get freedom to express yourselves in anyway you can.

We were told about the differences between a blog and podcast which i would like to share.

Characteristics of a Blog:

• online diary
• Social Network- provides online connection with friends, co-workers & family
• usually written in first person and often contain subjective information
• designed for reading
• file formats are html, .asp, xhtml
• viewed through internet

Characterisitics of Podcast:

• Ipod broadcast
• Social media-uses audio & video tools for broadcasting & sharing information
• used as means of interviewing an expert in a gien field or creating an online audio seminar on a given topic
• designed for listening & viewing
• File formats are.mp3, .mov
• Listened & viewed through Pod catcher. Client application software is used to access & check for updates
• Mainly viewed in devices such as ipod, mp3 player, some latest mobile phones

Once these valuable information was shared to us all students the speakers got fixed and we started watching the presentation. And believe me gladwell's presentation was SUPER LONG!!! I couldn't stop tears of sleepiness from my eyes trickling down my cheek. My attention span could only last till half of the presentation and the rest i had to look back at home. Then we started watching the "Pepsi and Coke" ad as part of our tutorial exercise.

In the end we were told to prepare a set of questions to interview our tutor in the next class and guess what i wasn't sure according to what topic was the questions going to ask about. Sadly i ended my tutorial 3 with a confusion..... :(

WEEK 3 LECTURE

2 Weeks gone and here we are in the 3rd week of my journey. The title of this week lecture is "Requirements gathering" and we basically go into greater detail on the Analysis Phase. The activities of Analysis phase are: Define System Requirements, Prioritize requirements, prototypes for feasibility & discovery, Generate and evaluate alternatives & review recommendations with management.

To begin with we must know what is actually "System Requirements". Basically, they are specifications that define the functions to be provided by a system. System requirement is divided into 2 parts:

1) Functional Requirements: are activities that the system must perform which are usually business functions or processes.

2) Non-functional requirements: are characteristics of the system other than activities it must perform. Such as usability, security, performance, technical and reliability.

But to acquire system requirements you need to know about their source in greater detail as well. Source of System requirements are usually the stakeholders, users, clients and technical staff who all have a genuine interest and are affected with the implementation of a new system or changes made to an existing system. Another new concept has been mentioned in week 3 lecture was "Business Process Reengineering". The objective of this technique is to streamline internal processes to be as effective and efficient as possible.

Then i learned about the information gathering techniques namely:

1. Review existing reports, forms, and procedure descriptions
2. interview and discussion processes with users
3. Observe and document business processes
4. Build prototypes
5. Distribute and collect questionnaires
6. Conduct joint application design (JAD)
7. Research vendor solutions

Then we must know how to validate these requirements. Now i'm looking forward to the tutorial 3 since i understood most of the things in the week lecture.... :)

WEEK 2 Material GRASPED!!!!

*SHEESH* Studying the material week 2 felt almost like torturing myself to the maximum. Week 2 lecture told us to read chapter 2 and 3, study guide and do the online quiz. To go through all of them needed a lot of motivation and determination from my inner side and thankfully somehow i did it.

Week 2 material was just full of key terms that i will memorize properly as the semester progresses. Firstly the key terms i learnt were System development lifecycle (SDLC), and Project. SDLC involves the entire process of building, deploying, using & updating an information system. Project is a planned undertaking that has a beginning & an end & that produces a desired result or product.

SDLC is divided into Phases. A SDLC usually has 5 phases:

1. Project planning activities: a group of activities that plan, organize & schedule the project.
2. Analysis: a group of activities which focus on understanding business problem that needs to be solved & on defining the business requirements
3. Design activities: use requirements defined earlier to develop the program structure & algorithms for new system.
4. Implementation activities: include programming, testing & installing the system for business users.
5. Support phase: activities needed to upgrade & maintain system.

The next important key term is System methodology. Basically this concept is about providing comprehensive guidelines to follow for completing every activity in the SDLC including specific models, tools & techniques. Models are representations of an important aspect of the real world. E.g. of models are: Flowcharts, Data-Flow Diagrams, Entity Relationship Diagram, Structure Chart, Use Case diagram, pert chart, gant chart, financial analysis, etc.

Tools are software supports that help create models or other components required in the project. Example of tools: project management application, word processor, code generator tool, database management application, CASE, IDE, etc.

Techniques is a collection of guidelines that help an analyst complete a system development activity or task. Examples are: data modeling techniques, object oriented analysis & design techniques, project management techniques, etc.

And then came the topic on 2 approaches to System Development:

1) Structured approach: which uses structured analysis, structured design and structured programming technique. It also has a modified methodology called information engineering which deal with refining the process.

2)Object oriented approach: which view an information system as collection of interacting objects that work together to accomplish tasks

Then i learnt about the new system methodologies being used namely: Unified process, Extreme programming, Scrum, Spiral Model and Agile Modeling.

Last major concept of week 2 were based on Project Mangement. Project Management "is defined as the organizing & directing other people to achieve a planned result within a predetermined schedule". Every project has a Project Manager who has a set of internal and external repsonsibilities that are mentioned below:

Internal Responsibilities:

1. Identify project tasks & build work breakdown structure
2. develop project schedules
3. recruit & train team members
4. Assign tasks to team members
5. Assess project risks
6. Monitor & control project deliverables & milestones
7. Verify quality of project deliverables

External responsibilites:

1. Report project status & progress
2. Work directly with client & other stakeholders
3. Identify resource needs & obtain resources
4. Establish good working relationship

Project Managers just needs to have good communication, planning & organizing skills with a good know-how on technology but doesn't need to be a very technical person. They are in high demand in the I.T industry since there are many projects being taken place all the time. Now i will briefly tell the major reasons behind project failure and success.

Reasons for Project Failure:

• Incomplete/ changing requirements
• limited user involvement
• lack of executive support
• lack of technical support
• poor project planning
• lack of required resources
• unclear objectives

Reasons for Project Success:

• Clear system requirements definitions
• Substantial user involvement
• Support from upper management
• thorough & detailed project plans
• realistic work schedules & milestones

Project Managers life has been made easy nowadays with this software called Microsoft Project and its available at the back of the SJB textbook. It generates project schedules quickly, accurately and neatly!!

A Project Manager needs to also conduct a project feasibility to identify all potential risks that could jeopardize the success of the project. Project Feasibility includes methods such as: Risk management, organizational & cultural feasibility, technological feasibility, schedule feasibility, resource feasibility and economic feasibility.

Once this step is done project manager can proceed to step of staffing the project, i.e. finding right people with correct skills & managing them throughout the project and then finally launching the project.

Thus this ends my idea on week 2 material..... :)